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jmmom · 04-20-2008, 05:19 PM

My son prefers not to have much of a meal plan. 1) He rarely eats breakfast on a weekday. 2) He gets tired of the food choices. 3) He doesn't think it's a good deal as, at his school, $1 dining dollar costs ~$1.29 because there is overhead (I don't know whether other colleges are as transparent about that, but they do have to have overhead). Anyway,...

He is a frugal guy. He's skinny too, although not in an unhealthy way. He has a small kitchen and likes to cook, but really only when in relaxation mode (vacations etc.) and then only when the spirit moves him. So he mostly eats out. It's kind of funny that he "gets tired of" the school-profferred food, as he pretty much goes to the same places over and over again, all walking distance from his dorm at an urban campus.

So... he gets the minimum required meal plan for on-campus students ($500/term) and it is a dining-dollar type which he uses mostly at the University Market rather than at a dining facility. We then put into his account $700 additional/term. That equates to the minimal "full" meal plan for upperclassmen (*without* overhead added on, so we save too

). It is actually more than adequate for him (YMMV) and he will probably "profit" in that he will probably leave campus with some of those dollars unspent. We would happily pay for a larger plan, if he chose, on campus or the equivalent food "allowance," but he just doesn't use it.

As you can see, that is $2400/year. So I'm not sure your son would come up short if you allowance him the equivalent of that $2750.

Obviously, it depends on how often, how much and where he eats (probably the Ritz is not handy by his campus

). But the amount might work. I'd suggest doing it for, say, two months and seeing how it's working. One month might not be a fair trial, as that first month (Orientation, getting settled in, learning the way around) might be atypical.

04-20-2008, 05:19 PM	#4
jmmom Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New England small town Threads: 124 Posts: 4,480	One family's experience My son prefers not to have much of a meal plan. 1) He rarely eats breakfast on a weekday. 2) He gets tired of the food choices. 3) He doesn't think it's a good deal as, at his school, $1 dining dollar costs ~$1.29 because there is overhead (I don't know whether other colleges are as transparent about that, but they do have to have overhead). Anyway,... He is a frugal guy. He's skinny too, although not in an unhealthy way. He has a small kitchen and likes to cook, but really only when in relaxation mode (vacations etc.) and then only when the spirit moves him. So he mostly eats out. It's kind of funny that he "gets tired of" the school-profferred food, as he pretty much goes to the same places over and over again, all walking distance from his dorm at an urban campus. So... he gets the minimum required meal plan for on-campus students ($500/term) and it is a dining-dollar type which he uses mostly at the University Market rather than at a dining facility. We then put into his account $700 additional/term. That equates to the minimal "full" meal plan for upperclassmen (without overhead added on, so we save too ). It is actually more than adequate for him (YMMV) and he will probably "profit" in that he will probably leave campus with some of those dollars unspent. We would happily pay for a larger plan, if he chose, on campus or the equivalent food "allowance," but he just doesn't use it. As you can see, that is $2400/year. So I'm not sure your son would come up short if you allowance him the equivalent of that $2750. Obviously, it depends on how often, how much and where he eats (probably the Ritz is not handy by his campus ). But the amount might work. I'd suggest doing it for, say, two months and seeing how it's working. One month might not be a fair trial, as that first month (Orientation, getting settled in, learning the way around) might be atypical. Last edited by jmmom : 04-20-2008 at 05:25 PM.